As part of the Finance Forward initiative and Procurement Transformation, Procurement Services is modernizing Concur to streamline the user experience, reduce risk, improve efficiency, and increase transparency. The first set of updates will go live on May 12, 2025, and are outlined below and in these training videos on BEN Helps.
The Concur updates impact both Expense Submitters and Approvers. Approvers are encouraged to review all changes.
- Changes for Submitters/Delegates are:
- New expense and attendee types
- A more intuitive travel allowance format
- Updated missing receipt declaration policy
- Additional enhanced email reminders
- Changes for Approvers are:
- Shortened approval workflow timeouts
- Consolidated printed reports options
Changes for Submitters/Delegates
New Expense Types
To reduce reliance on the 'Miscellaneous' category, three new expense types will be added:
- Gifts, with a dropdown to specify gift type
- Late Fees/Finance Charges, defaulting to non-reimbursable (with option to adjust)
- Other Lodging Accommodations, for non-hotel lodging
New Quick Tips will appear in the system to clarify commonly misunderstood expense types and link to help resources.
New Attendee Type
A new 'Group (10 or more)' attendee type will allow users to upload an attendee list instead of entering names individually. Attendees will now be required for Conference/Registration Fees and Training & Staff Development. To streamline entry, the submitter will default as the attendee for all expense types except Gifts.
Travel Allowance Format
The Travel Allowance format for fixed meals/per diem will be updated to make entering itinerary details more intuitive. More details are available in this BEN Helps Solution article and training video.
Missing Receipt Declaration
To reduce risk, the following expense types will no longer qualify for the Missing Receipt Declaration, as receipts are typically obtainable:
- Conference/Registration Fees, Airfare & Airline Fees, Car Rental, Rail, Hotel, and Other Lodging (excluding stays with friends/family)
Email Reminders
All reminder emails have been revised for clarity and now include more direct links to support resources.
For Penn Travel Cardholders:
- New reminders at 14 and 21 days for unreconciled credit card charges
- Existing 30-, 60-, and 90-day reminders will now repeat every 5-10 days until charges are reconciled
- Default Reviewers will now be copied on 30-day reminders until resolution
For Penn Travelers:
- New reminders will be sent at 10, 30, and 60 days after the trip end date* for unsubmitted travel expense reports.
- These will repeat every 5 days until the report is submitted or deleted.
*Effective July 1, 2025, all travel expense reports (domestic and international) must include Trip Begin and Trip End Dates.
Changes for Approvers
Approval Workflow Timeout
To encourage timely approvals and align with industry best practices, expense reports left in an Approver's Approval Queue for more than 30 days (previously 365 days) will now automatically “time out” and be returned to the Submitter.
Please note: Any expense report in the Approver’s queue for longer than 30 days will be sent back to the Submitter on the evening of Monday, May 12, 2025.
Consolidated Printed Reports
The five current printed reports will now be consolidated into two options: the Penn Detail Report and the Penn Detail Report with Audit Trail and Workflow. Both reports will include comments and the country at both the header and line levels.
Will There Be Additional Changes to Concur?
Additional Concur system changes are planned for July 1, 2025 to support the previously announced changes:
- Reducing the expense report submission deadline from 182 to 60 days to comply with IRS guidelines
- Raising the University required receipt requirement from $25 to $75
Details on these Concur changes for July 1, 2025 will be shared in coming weeks.
Have Questions?
Please review the training videos and/or contact BEN Helps for support.